I told him since I am wrong most of the time I appreciated his support.

"Well, one out of every 20," he said.

Jasikevicius was a point guard who tore up the leagues in Isreal, but really made his mark playing for the Lithuanian national team in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece; no one could handle him during that tournament. Pacers president Larry Bird signed Jasikevicius, and he was with the Pacers when current Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle was running things in Indy.

As a 29-year-old "rookie" out of Maryland, Jasikevicius averaged 7.3 points in '05-'06. His playing time and production dropped, and he was traded the next season.

He was too slow to guard the perimeter, and had a hard time getting his shot off. The Pacers traded him to Golden State where he never played under Don Nelson. Jasikevicius returned to Europe after the 2006-'07 season.

Carlisle insisted that Mekel is NOT Jasikevicius.

"There are simiarlities but Mekel is stronger and more athletic," Carlisle said. "He was four or five years younger than when Jasikevicius came over. We believe he's a much better defender. My hope is that Gal has a lot of Jasikevicius' qualities. He had a great feel for the game and creating. He was an NBA caliber player. He would have been better had he been on a cotending team where he would have had protection defensively and had some better players to pass it, too."

07/02/2013

Once Dwight Howard makes up his mind, which if you ask the good people of Orlando that could take years, the rest of the NBA can continue living and trying to build a roster capable of being relevant.

The Dallas Mavericks are all-in on D12, but free agent center Andrew Bynum has to be a serious No. 2 option even if sometimes he plays like a giant No. 2.

Bynum's resume may be littered with All Star games and NBA championships, but it's also covered in red flags. If Dwight Howard is the NBA's top head case, Bynum has to be a close second. Or 1a.

He missed all of last season with a knee injury after the Los Angeles Lakers traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers. And now there are reports he won't workout for teams that are interested.

That's not even the reason not to be interested in Bynum.He's a hot head baby who has no problem letting his emotions get the better of him on the court. Mavericks fans remember Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Western Conference semifinals when an obviously frustrated Bynum closelined a driving J.J. Barea that resulted in an ejection.

This is to say nothing of the constant begging then Lakers coach Phil Jackson had to employ to get Bynum engaged in playing. And then there are the injuries, too. Bynum has appeared in 82 games once in his nine-year NBA career; the second-highest figure is 65 games.

All of that baggage and injury stuff aside, the man can play. He is a 7-foot, 285-pound beast with good hands, good feet who is a solid rebounder and defender at the rim.

He can't cover screen and rolls near the top of the key as well as some centers, but around the rim he's a load.

Plus, he is only 25. That may be the biggest reason of all to sign him.

Should D12 pass on the Mavs, expect the team to kick the tires on Bynum and give him a look. He can't be any more of a baby than Dwight.

06/23/2013

The Dallas Mavericks' half-court heave of signing free agent guard Chris Paul has unofficially ended as the Los Angeles Clippers have landed head coach Doc Rivers. Rivers goes from Boston to L.A. in return for a first-round pick.

The Clippers' chances of retaining Paul were always great because they can offer him $30 million more than any other team. Now he has a coach he likes, too.

This is just another reminder what a bone head play it is to bank on signing the biggest free agents if your team is not located to a really cool, giant body of water. Landing Paul as a free agent was only a chance in hell for the Mavericks - big-time NBA free agents NEVER leave for Middle Earth. Ever.

First it was Deron Williams (Atlanic Ocean, Hudson River), then it was Chris Paul (Pacific Ocean) and now that leaves Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (Pacific Ocean) on their to-do list.

06/18/2013

It may feel like 20 years since your Dallas Mavericks won their first NBA title but it's actually a mere two seasons.

Tonight, the San Antonio Spurs can defeat the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to win yet another title; the way they are doing it looks very similar to the way the Mavs did - fast ball movement, and sometimes serious shooting from three that is far superior than what they did during the season.

During the 2010-'11 regular season, the Mavs shot .365 from 3-point range.During this regular season, the Spurs shot .376 from 3-point range.

Now look at the comparisons between the Mavs' 3-point shooting against the Heat in '11 and the Spurs in '13.

06/03/2013

Mark Cuban was none too pleased the way point guard Jason Kidd left town one year ago, but there should come a time the two sides can agree business is business and and honor the player who meant so much to this franchise.

Kidd said in a statement released by the New York Knicks: "My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years. As I reflect on my time with the four teams I represented in the NBA, I look back fondly at every season and thank each every one of my teammates and coaches that joined me on the court."

It was about one year ago Kidd signed a three-year deal with the Knicks, which left Cuban steaming mad that his point guard bolted. This season with the New York Knicks was enough to know Kidd, 40, was finished.

Kidd was pretty good for the Knicks during the regular season, and the Mavs obviously missed his point guard skills and ability to set up an offense. But in the playoffs, especially against the Indiana Pacers, Kidd was exposed as an old guy who could no longer keep up.

He did not score in any of his final nine playoff games with the Knicks.

However un-fun his departure was from the Mavericks, his time here should not be dismissed as anytihng other than significant. Considering his impact on this franchise, and specifically their title team, his number should be retired.

He was No. 2 overall pick by the Mavericks in the 1994 draft, and was named the Rookie of the Year that season. He was a part of the Three Js - Jason Kidd, Jamal Mashburn and Jimmy Jackson - that supposedly was going to lead a Mavs resurgence. But then Toni Braxton turned that plan to hell.

In Dec. of '96, Kidd was traded along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer to the Phoenix Suns for Sam Cassell, Michael Finley and A.C. Green.

He led the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances, and eventually was traded back to the Mavs in February of 2008.

The trade eventually hit huge when during the 2011 NBA playoffs he was the starting point guard who had, despite some limited athletic ability, worked his way into becoming an efficient 3-point shooter that defenses had to honor.

He may not have scored a ton, but he was a total pro who who led and knew how to set up players.

Players loved to play with Kidd because he was a pure point guard who could pass, and how to get into an offense.

If you don't think the Mavs missed him, watch footage from their team last season when they struggled to execute basic point guard plays that he made look routine.

There is no NBA Championship for the Dallas Mavericks unless Jason Kidd is running the point.

Considering what he did for this team on his first tour, and certainly his second, merits his jersey to hang from the rafters at the American Airlines Center.

Plan on this - an additional $30 mil that he can get only from the Lakers is going to make him more happy.

From the Things I Can't Let Go Files: All the Mavs had to do was pay Tyson Chandler the four-year, $58 million deal two years ago and let everyone else other than Dirk Nowitzki go.

Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, DeShawn Stevenson, J.J. Barea all could have fallen off the books and while their absence would have been felt it's nothing like losing a competent 7-footer. These guys are impossible to find, and some take forever to develop.

Chandler may never be a scorer - the man has zero offensive game - what he does defensively remains a giant hole the Mavs have never come close to replacing since he left.

Chandler is currently getting his fanny kicked by Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and is calling out teammate Carmelo Anthony in the process. Even if the Knicks lose, and they will, and Chandler continues to get worked by Hibbert, he will, it does not diminish just how badly the Mavs miss him in the middle of the floor.

He was an All-Star for the Knicks last season and was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. Yes, it helped he played in the East and in the New York market. He was recently named to second-team on the NBA's all-defensive team.

Two guards and small forwards come and go, but athletic big-men who can guard the rim, help on switches and provide as much positive denfensive energy and leadership such as Chandler are hard to find.

It took Chandler about nine years in the NBA before he fully developed into a major player. He is 30, and should be in this window for a few more seasons.

The Mavs could have two of those, but elected for financial flexibility instead.

05/06/2013

Just when you thought some of those God-awful Dallas Mavericks teams of the '90s were the very worst, the Houston Astros are in a serious battle of "we can be the worstest".

In their first year of the American League, the Astros are 8-25 for an impressive .250 "winning" percentage. The Astros did not play on Monday night, but still lost 5-3 in extra innings.

The Astros simply must lose more if they want any hope of challenging the 1899 Cleveland Spiders for the supremacy of crap. The Spiders were 20-134, a .120 winning percentage, the worst in pro baseball history. What the final record does not reflect is that the Spiders were in a lot of those games, and needed just a few calls and they could have won as many as 25 games.

At the very least, the Astros are hard at work trying to at least be "worser" than their garbage year of 2012, when they finished 55-107 (.340).

BTW - The worst season in the history of the Texas Rangers was their first in the state, 1972, when they finished 54-100.

The sad part is there is no way for the Astros to post a winning percentage bad enough to distinguish itself as the very worst in the history of pro sports in this great state.

The Dallas Cowboys were 0-11-1 in their first season. The Houston Oilers had a few one-win seasons.

The Astros can't challenge winning .000 percentages like that because they play too many games. But for sheer quality of badness, these Astros could challenge the 1992-'93 Dallas Mavericks (11-71, .134) as one of the worst in the history of the state.

The odd part is that normally teams that suffer through seasons such as the one by the Astros normally are in their early part of the existence. The Astros have been around since 1962.

At the very least, D12 with a coach like Mark D'antoni doesn't work, and this is nothing to say about his Dwight's relationship with Kobe.

If you are the Dallas Mavericks, do you even try? Yes, yes, yes and yes. The guy sounds like a giant baby/head case but he is only 27 and a physical freak so the Mavs have to pursue this fantasy if possible.

The Lakers can offer Dwight a deal of five years at $117.9 million. The most the Mavs can offer is four years, $87.6 million. Dwight is really going to have to hate L.A. to leave $30 million on the table.

The Mavs are going to have approximately $34 billion under the cap space, and they desperately need a defender and rim protector. Maybe Tyson Chandler? OK, cheap shot but Howard is just 27 and would only be around for four years.

This much is for certain - whatever team D12 plays for it has to be about him. Or close. Dirk Nowitzki is not going to care, provided Dwight brings it and cares.

There may not be a better coach for D12 than Rick Carlisle. He respects players, and consistently has displayed the ability to coach players of all personality types without losing them.

The rub is D12 has a limit, and he is not a fan of being pushed too hard. Orlando Magic coach Jeff Van Gundy may have been a punchline, but he leaned on Dwight to be better and he was. Howard's best seasons came when Van Gundy rode him. In the end, however, all of that pushing cost him his job.

Then there is the issue of D12's body, which is beginning to show signs of not being able to hold up.

Add it all up and you have a dicey situation for a max-contract player.

Either way, if Howard elects to becomes a free agent the Mavs have to call.

04/19/2013

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said his relationship to guard O.J. Mayo is that like a little league coach. Never before, Carlisle said, has he worked as much or as closely with one player as he did with Mayo this season.

On Thursday, Carlisle said just from the time invested element alone makes him want Mayo to return.

"It's a no-brainer," said Carlisle, who just days previously ripped Mayo for a blah performance in the second to last game of the season. "I like O.J. a lot. I love him as a kid."

Mayo wants to as well, provided he gets the right numbers. He said he will opt out of his current contract that would have paid him $4.2 million next season with the Mavs. He wants to come back at a higher number, and more years.

Mavs GM Donnie Nelson will not rule out anything, and other than Chris Kaman why should he?

"There are some gems in there," Nelson said.

Is one of those gems Mayo? Of the many decisions the Mavs face with their load of guys on expiring contracts, none is any more confounding than Mayo.

He is a quality NBA two-guard, but is he the case of a decent player on a medicore team or can he be a good player on a good team? The Memphis Grizzlies thought he could not be the latter so they let him go.

After one season where Mayo turned his game over to Carlisle there are plenty of reasons to think the Mavs can turn this guy into a solid player. But there are just as many reasons to believe this is who he is.

PRO * He is only 25, and durable.* In 82 games this season, he averaged 35.5 minutes, 15.3 points and shot 45%. * He can shoot - he made 40% on his 3-point attempts this season.* Paired with a pass-first point guard, he may thrive as a spot up shooter.* He is coachable. Those guys don't grow on trees. * He has not reached his prime.

CON* He clearly wore down as this season progressed, and he's only 25. You can't wear down at this age.* He was often a non-factor, or liability, late in close games. * All of his numbers were down when playing the top teams in the Western Conference. * He has played five NBA seasons and 383 games - this may be who he is.

WHAT TO DO: You can do a lot worse than O.J. Mayo. He is good. He is only worth bringing back at the right number, which means even in this new NBA where this new CBA will make contracts shorter Mayo is not returning. Bring back him but not at a price that says he needs to be a foundation player.

04/15/2013

The Dallas Mavericks'' offseason begins at the end of this week, and right now this team is staring into a giant, vast empty space of .500 if something dramatic does not happen.

The secret 0.0002% percent prayer that Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard was going to sign as a free agent with the Mavs took a dramatic turn for the worse. When Lakers guard Kobe Bryant suffered a torn Achilles a few days ago, the Lakers officially became D12's team.

The grand plan of Howard playing Kareem to Kobe's Magic did not play out the way the Lakers envisioned, but this dramatic injury changes everything.

Potentially, the Mavericks could have told Dwight, "Here is a max deal, and we are going to build around you with Dirk in his twilight" and it could have sold.

Now Dwight can see the Lakers as eventually his. Perhaps he was going to remain with the Lakers regardless, but the chance of him just saying "Screw it" and leaving for less just to get away from Kobe took a major hit in this new world.

If this happens, and the Mavs are serious about this, then potential free agent O.J. Mayo is gone.

Ellis is only 27, and averaged 19.5 points and 6.1 assists this season. Offensively, he is a major GO. He is one of the better scorers in the league. Defesnively? Not so much. That may be a rub with defensive-oriented head coach Rick Carlisle.

The Mavs are going to have money this summer to spend, and many holes to fill.